Event Details

Manchester City Art Gallery, Manchester Modernist Society, Geography at Manchester Metropolitan University and the North West Film Archive are pleased to announce the final film in our programme Modernist Dreams and Utopias. We sincerely hope you have enjoyed the series and we are planning to finish with another chance to see Tom Cordell’s wonderful Utopia London (2010, 82mins).

We are also very pleased to announce that Tom Cordell will introduce the film and will take questions after.

Utopia London is a feature length documentary exploring London’s recent architectural history. The film observes the method and practise of the Modernist architects who rebuilt London after World War Two. It shows how they revolutionised life in the city in the wake of destruction from war and the poor living conditions inherited from the Industrial Revolution. This film is their story.

Utopia London travels through the recent history of the city where the film maker, Tom Cordell grew up. He finds the architects who designed it and reunites them with the buildings they created. These young idealists were once united around a vision of using science and art to create a city of equal citizens. Their architecture fused William Morris with urban high-rise; ancient parkland with concrete.

Utopia London examines the, social and political agendas of the time in which the city was rebuilt. The story goes on to explore how the meaning of these transformative buildings has been radically manipulated over subsequent decades.

Inspired by the optimism of the past it poses the question; where do we go from here and now?

This visually stunning film will change the way you look at the city. For more information please visit: